Six men in a small boat were picked up from the sea off Dover this morning.

Both a Coastguard helicopter and the Border Force cutter HMC Valiant were called out at about 5.40am.

Local sources say the men were brought ashore at Dover Western Docks.

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Maritime and Coastguard Agency was alerted to the presence of a small boat off the coast of Kent.

“The MCA search and rescue helicopter and a Border Force cutter were deployed to the scene.

“Six men were recovered from the boat and are due to be interviewed by Border Force officers.”

It has not yet been confirmed why these men were on the boat, or whether or not they were suspected illegal immigrants.